We’ve been in Thailand for exactly 10 days and what a ride it has been! But before I share about what has been going down in Thailand, I have to share about my last few days in Malaysia.
So our last 2 days in Malaysia we had the opportunity to participate in a Christian church camp for over 400 kids in Penang, where most were Muslim. I’m not going to lie I’ve never been a camp counselor before or really had the desire to, so walking into this it was a very new experience for me. Well I can confidently say it was my favorite one on the race thus far! It was such a humbling experience getting to know the kids and see God at work on such a large playing field.
There were 5 different platoons: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo and those were broken up into teams. I was the counselor for Alpha 3, aka the best team ever, and it was seriously amazing!
Day one we met our teams and played some epic games in which you compete against the other teams. We then had a session where we got to hear from the pastor at City Light Church in Penang. It was such a long day but a good one filled with fun times and building relationships. Then we all went to bed around midnight and were split up among the kids and it was like a slumber party on steroids. Then came my favorite day, Day Two!
We woke up bright and early for another awesome worship session and message. Then we played some more intense games, today was water sports! Then it started to storm pretty bad so we had to call off the games and therefore got some unexpected fellowship time. Today was the day I really got to know the kids in my group and figure out what they enjoyed and what they did not enjoy. It was such a precious time that the Lord created for me getting to truly connect with them! Then we had another epic worship session and message, this was my absolute favorite part of camp!
Pastor Keith told the story of Leah from the Bible and how it related to his life. You see Leah had a beautiful sister named Rachael, and Rachael was highly valued and coveted by everyone but Leah was not. Jacob, Leah’s husband, actually wanted to marry Rachael but her father tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead. Although he was married to Leah Jacob continued to love Rachael and still wanted to marry her. So Leah always tried to please her husband by having more children so that he would hopefully love her back. But Jacob continued to love Rachael and never loved Leah back. When she was pregnant with her fourth child, instead of trying to get Jacob to love her, she decided to praise the Lord. After that Leah was happy and at peace with her life because instead of finding her identity in Jacob or her father she found it in the Lord.
So like Leah the pastor grew up with parents who always told him he wasn’t good enough and that his siblings were better. He also heard this from kids in his classes and constantly hearing this made him start to believe it. That was until he found Jesus and He started speaking truth into the lies that others had told him.
This message hit home with SO many of the kids, which when you think about it is pretty heartbreaking. But! Because of this message so many people gave their life to the Lord and learned that they are special and valued. We had the opportunity to pray healing and peace over at least 50 kids. It was one of the most power things that I have ever experience, the presence of God was so evident!
I had the chance to pray with one kid who was literally in tears on the ground and after praying with him he looked up at me with such joy and thanked me. He said that he felt physically lighter after praying and by the end we were bot crying tears of joy. I can’t express how blessed I felt to not only have witnessed God’s power like that but also be apart of it.
After everyone that wanted prayer receive it we broke into our teams and had a time of processing what just happened/what they had heard. Sitting in a circle I saw unparalled joy on each of their faces, it was a site that truly made my cup overflow. They each talked about their experience and literally every single one of them said they felt lighter and happier. Several said that they didn’t realize they were important and that they had a purpose. They didn’t think they were “worthy enough” because that’s all they had been told their whole life.
Getting to talk to them individually and tell them about the gifts I saw in them and the areas that I had already seen growth for them was such a special time. That night, right after this session our team had to leave to prepare for travel the next day. I didn’t expect it but these kids impacted me so deeply in just two short days. My team can attest that leaving absolutely wrecked me in the best way possible! I will always cherish my time with Alpha 3!
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:13-14
Stay tuned for what’s happening in Thailand!!!
